Honoring and Celebrating Black History Month with Dr. Carter G. Woodson Flag Raising Ceremony at St. Petersburg City Hall

Jan. 31, 2024 – St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch, along with city leaders and community members, will raise the Dr. Carter G. Woodson flag outside City Hall to mark the start of Black History Month. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 1, at 10 a.m. outside St. Petersburg City Hall (175 5th St. N). All are welcome.

Remarks will be offered by Mayor Welch, City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders, and Terri Lipsey Scott, Executive Director of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

The Dr. Carter G. Woodson flag honors the life and legacy of Dr. Woodson, who is known as the Father of Black History Month. Dr. Woodson proposed and launched the annual February observance of “Negro History Week,” which became “Black History Month” 50 years later. It is said that he chose February for the observance because February 12th was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and February 14th was the accepted birthday of Frederick Douglass.

The tradition of raising this flag at City Hall began in 2016. The Woodson African American Museum of Florida is located at 2240 9th Ave. S in St. Petersburg. Visit www.woodsonmuseum.org for more information.

The annual flag raising ceremony is open to the public:

WHAT: Flag Raising for Black History Month 
WHEN: Thursday, February 1, 10:00 a.m. 
WHERE: St. Petersburg City Hall, 175 5th St. N